Letters
by Emsta
Summary: Before Claire died she wrote some letters rather like Tess did for Bom... I may rewrite this one day
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the lawyer. All characters are property of someone else; they do not belong to me. I am borrowing and I promise to return them when I've finished  
  
Spoilers: Up til the end of Season Three  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Prologue  
  
~Set 3 Weeks after Claire's Funeral~  
  
Meg walked into the kitchen holding a bundle of mail in her hand.  
  
"The post's arrived girls"  
  
The sentence brought the girls from all over the homestead along with Terry and Alex, who had just got back from the rodeo and was not sure that he wanted to move out, not wanting to relinquish his hold on Claire and Charlotte.  
  
"Bill, bill, summons for Stevie, bill, Jodie one for you from the fire brigade, oh God..." Meg paused while faced with a letter in a large manila envelope. "Its from a solicitor in the city, addressed to 'the Mob' at Drover's Run."  
  
~LETTER ONE-THE SOLICITOR~  
  
Dear All,  
  
I am writing to you concerning the death of Claire McLeod. First, may I express my sincere condolences to you all.  
  
Ms McLeod came to me soon after the death of her father and requested that I write a Last Will and Testament in the case of her untimely death as I also handled the Will of her father.  
  
We have met on numerous occasions, the most recent a few months before her death (A/N not sure how long it actually was), when she was in the city on other business and wished me to include her daughter in the above mentioned Last Will and Testament.  
  
Along with the Will, she entrusted to me a set of letters to be distributed after her death, which she was planning to update every birthday. Ms McLeod requested that the letter in the red envelope be read first.  
  
Please contact me soon to arrange a sitting for the reading of Claire McLeod's Last Will and Testament.  
  
Yours Sincerely, John Green.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Terry finished reading the letter and emptied the other envelops out of the larger one. There was one for each of them - Stevie, Tess, Charlotte, Meg, Terry, Alex, Nick, Jodi, Becky, even Peter (there was a post-its on the last two asking for them to be forwarded).  
  
There was a period of silence as they all considered what was in front of them-one last link to Claire.  
  
"Ok, we should all really read them at the same time, how about we get dinner ready and get Nick over here." Terry didn't want to put off the opening of his letter anymore than any of the rest of them, but he felt that they owed it to each other to read them separately and simultaneously. Plus they had to feed Bom, and they should all eat as well  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N sorry if I got any facts wrong, I'm a pretty new viewer of McLeod's Daughters.  
  
It's a bit short; i'm not really good at writing big chapters. However, be on the lookout for Chapter One-Tess. 


	2. Chapter 1 Tess

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the lawyer. All characters are property of someone else; they do not belong to me. I am borrowing and I promise to return them when I've finished  
  
Spoilers: Up til the end of Season Three  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Prologue  
  
~Set 3 Weeks after Claire's Funeral~  
  
Meg walked into the kitchen holding a bundle of mail in her hand.  
  
"The post's arrived girls"  
  
The sentence brought the girls from all over the homestead along with Terry and Alex, who had just got back from the rodeo and was not sure that he wanted to move out, not wanting to relinquish his hold on Claire and Charlotte.  
  
"Bill, bill, summons for Stevie, bill, Jodie one for you from the fire brigade, oh God..." Meg paused while faced with a letter in a large manila envelope. "Its from a solicitor in the city, addressed to 'the Mob' at Drover's Run."  
  
~LETTER ONE-THE SOLICITOR~  
  
Dear All,  
  
I am writing to you concerning the death of Claire McLeod. First, may I express my sincere condolences to you all.  
  
Ms McLeod came to me soon after the death of her father and requested that I write a Last Will and Testament in the case of her untimely death as I also handled the Will of her father.  
  
We have met on numerous occasions, the most recent a few months before her death (A/N not sure how long it actually was), when she was in the city on other business and wished me to include her daughter in the above mentioned Last Will and Testament.  
  
Along with the Will, she entrusted to me a set of letters to be distributed after her death, which she was planning to update every birthday. Ms McLeod requested that the letter in the red envelope be read first.  
  
Please contact me soon to arrange a sitting for the reading of Claire McLeod's Last Will and Testament.  
  
Yours Sincerely, John Green.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Terry finished reading the letter and emptied the other envelops out of the larger one. There was one for each of them - Stevie, Tess, Charlotte, Meg, Terry, Alex, Nick, Jodi, Becky, even Peter (there was a post-its on the last two asking for them to be forwarded).  
  
There was a period of silence as they all considered what was in front of them-one last link to Claire.  
  
"Ok, we should all really read them at the same time, how about we get dinner ready and get Nick over here." Terry didn't want to put off the opening of his letter anymore than any of the rest of them, but he felt that they owed it to each other to read them separately and simultaneously. Plus they had to feed Bom, and they should all eat as well.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N sorry if I got any facts wrong, I'm a pretty new viewer of McLeod's Daughters.  
  
It's a bit short; i'm not really good at writing big chapters. However, be on the lookout for Chapter One-Tess.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, my lawyer (not the one in the story, although he is mine but in a different way), tells me that I do not own this show or any other one and that I am only borrowing them for the duration of this fanfic.  
  
Spoilers: Up til the end of Season Three  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
After they had called Nick and he had arrived they finished the rather rushed dinner and the opening of letters began.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
My dearest sister Tess,  
  
I sit here writing a letter I hope you will never have to read, because if you are reading this I will have lived before I had really lived.  
  
I am sure that since you are there, Bom will be fine. You've been there for her from the beginning, along with Alex. It is my wish that the two of you raise her together. She will need you both and I am sure that you'll need each other for support.  
  
Please kiss her for me and ensure she is never in need of a mother for love, advice or comfort. I am sure you are aware that there are so many things I would never have been able to teach her, like fashion.  
  
I have one request - you marry Nick, if you haven't already. You two belong together, and love makes life so much more. Don't leave it too late and miss your chance but live every moment, as there might be no tomorrow.  
  
You have changed so much from the girl who arrived here close to three years ago with big dreams, and what I thought was a small heart, wanting to sell your half of Drovers, and buy a Coffee shop in the city. You've become a blossoming young countrywoman, who can ride as good as any man, tackle anything she wishes, and loves the country.  
  
Look after Roy, he will work for you if you remember me when you work with him. Through you, he will not forget, nor will you. But remember if he does not work for free, a good scratch behind the ears will keep him happy and eternally loyal.  
  
I love you, and I always will, whether I am around to show it or not. Take care and remember what I said about Nick, God knows you both deserve some happiness,  
  
Love you from now until forever,  
  
Claire  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Tess stood on the veranda, tears streaming down her face, her letter at her feet, itself tearstained.  
  
Nick had arrived just as Tess was reading the bit about him, the bit about them getting married. It had made Tess laugh and he decided to investigate what had made her so happy, and sad at the same time.  
  
"That sister of mine had foresight!" even through her tears Tess could see the humour in the situation, that Claire had known before she herself even had, at least consiously, that the two of them were meant to be together, that the reason Tess had broken a perfectly good man's heart, was for the simple reason that she was in love with 'the boy next door'.  
  
"What do you mean Tess? She couldn't even work out what to call her daughter whom she'd had nine months to think about a name for!"  
  
"Here, read this. How could she have known when we didn't even know? How could she have seen that you and I belonged together, because now I see that we do, that we should grow old together, or at least try. I love you Nick, and nothing will ever change that."  
  
After a surprised and prolonged silence, in which Nick pondered on what to do, there came a somewhat cheerful response, maybe too cheerful:  
  
"well, you'd better show me what this madwoman had to say about the two of us! And we don't even know whose letter is next on the list to be read!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Terry found them both a ten minutes later, Tess crying in Nicks arms, and Nick looking on very protective of the woman in his arms.  
  
"I'm guessing that was an impressive letter, judging by the length of time it took you to read." Terry was always astounded by long letters, whether his or someone else's  
  
"It was amazing what Claire saw, things I never thought anyone would notice, she noticed and analysed." Nick was still amazed by what Tess had been amazed by minutes before.  
  
"What did she have to say?" Meg joined them on the veranda  
  
"All will reveal itself in due course Meg."  
  
"C'mon Tess, don't keep an old woman waiting!"  
  
"you? Old? HA! You're not at the stage to call yourself an old woman! Have some respect for your elders!" Terry found the prospect of Meg calling herself old quite entertaining, even in light of the current circumstances.  
  
"yeah, yeah, come inside you old bag and we'll get on with this" even Meg's joking had a tinge of sadness, she had not yet fully recovered after her the death of one she had raised.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: hope you like the chapter, it took me a while to do, although this is the longest chapter I have ever written! I had meant to get it to you as a Christmas present, but that didn't eventuate. Think of this as my first installment of my New Years Resolution, to write some each day.  
  
I am sorry for any small details that are not quite right, as I said earlier, I did not start watching this show until halfway through the third season, so my facts might not be 100% correct.  
  
I have been meaning to get the first season on DVD but everywhere seems to have sold out, or not have had it to begin with so the search goes on.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Ginny Anderson: thanks, I thought it was an interesting idea too  
  
Flynn: thanks! I do aim to continue, but I can't garentee it. I have another idea but I'll finish this one first.  
  
Charmed-angel4: Thanks for the comment about facts, I tried my best. Obviously nothing stood out as being wrong.  
  
Beth Nolan: McLoed's Daughters is an Aussie show about two sisters who inherit a property in South Australia and the drama that goes on there.  
  
Toril10: well I haven't commited a crime against nature yet, but there is always the next chapter! Lol!  
  
Jessie Messy: I'm so glad you are as excited as I was about this.  
  
Tali-Sarah: I have continued, but maybe its not classified as soon! 


	3. Chapter 2 Alex

bDisclaimer:/b My love of Alex and Claire is the only thing from this fic that I own exclusively. The characters belong to some lucky person!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
My Best Mate,  
  
Alex, you are my oldest friend, closest companion and the love of my life.  
  
Yes, the love of my life. I love you almost as much as the country, if not more. Sorry if I never found the moment to tell you this, although I hope I have  
  
You deserve all the love in this world, and I hope you find someone who loves you as I do and that you will love her as much as she deserves nah as much as she needs. There is nothing as heartbreaking as not being loved in return.  
  
I may not have gotten the time with you that I currently hope for, and if that is so, I will be eternally unhappy for the good times we had missed, but not for the world would I change a minute we have had, from before you left for boarding school and after you came back, more of a rascal than ever, even though boarding school was supposed to cure you of that!  
  
I loved you the entire time, and I loved you more when you said that Charlotte was yours, to stop the scandal with Peter, although in the long term that might have been a bad mistake, I still am grateful that you did so.  
  
I need you to help Tess with Bom. In Tess she has a mother who will love her, treat her right and teach her all the womanly things that I never had a mother around to learn. But she also needs a father, even if not her biological one.  
  
I hope one day Peter will be able to look at his daughter and accept that she is his, but until then and afterwards, my daughter needs the love and attention of a dad. She needs a dad, and had I lived, I would have had you be her dad so please be there for her, even if Peter is too.  
  
As I said in my letter to Tess, the two of you have been there for her since the beginning and I want the both of you to raise her, each having the other for support. I suppose that might end up a bit awkward, but please try your best. I suppose she is more your daughter than she is Tess' anyway. There is so much in her that shows me you, even at her young age.  
  
I love you Alex, as both a friend and more and I always will. I have always believed that love does not die with people, it is still there, even if it is only passed to the back of the mind. I do not believe that you will forget me, your love may be passed on to another, but you will not forget.  
  
Please do me the favour of not loosing yourself because I died. I don't think I could ever live with that (bit of a sad joke I know!)  
  
I love you forever,  
  
Claire  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
For the first time since Claire had died before he was able to propose, Alex cried. Because, for the first time, it had hit him that she was gone, she had loved him and that even though he'd never been able to tell her exactly how much he loved her, he knew she felt the same way about him. He cried because they would have got married and lived happily ever after, or as close to as any humans were able to get.  
  
He cried for the little girl who had lost a mother before she was able to know her. He cried for the mother who would never see her little girl grow up, never really get to know her daughter or properly love her daughter. He knew in his mind that that was ridiculous, but his heart knew different. His heart knew that she had not loved her daughter to the full extent, because she had not really known her and he knew that it is impossible to really love someone unless you know what is good and what is bad about them.  
  
But most of all he cried for himself. He cried for all he had lost, all he would now never know because of that loss and all that was yet to come. A future he had never even imagined would not hold her, the woman of his childhood, the woman of his heart, the woman of his dreams.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The kitchen was silent, nobody speaking, all lost deep in thought, sorrow and memories. Thoughts of what their own letter might hold what final insight Claire had in store for them. Sorrow at the loss of such an insightful and wonderful sister, friend and mother (although Charlotte was not really able to share her thoughts!)  
  
Terry was the first to be shaken from reverie, realising that Alex was yet to return to the fold, so to speak.  
  
"Someone should really go and see how Alex is," the rest of the mob were slow to remove themselves from their respective thoughts. "Make sure he hasn't harmed himself."  
  
In due course it was decided that Meg and Charlotte would make the pilgrimage outside, Meg because she had been the first to agree, and Charlotte because of the healing power of babies, plus Alex adored Bom. Plus it was almost her bedtime and not a night had passed where Alex had not said goodnight to his little girl.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Alex? Where are you? It's almost Bom's bedtime." Meg had taken some time to come up with a plausible excuse for looking for Alex, feeling that he might not appreciate someone coming looking for him.  
  
"I'm over here, in the shed."  
  
After some looking, he was to be discovered, with a rather tear and dirt stained face, sitting next to Tess' bug with Roy. At the sight of her favourite guy, Bom sighed contentedly and smiled. That was all it took to bring a somewhat half hearted smile to Alex's features.  
  
"Do you want to put her to bed?" It had become a routine in the house, one that started in the trip to the city and Alex continued after Claire's death. Whenever Alex was around, he dropped what he was doing at the time and said goodnight to his little girl and put her to bed. Bom didn't sleep as soon if Alex was not there and Alex in turn, did not feel complete. He felt as if he hadn't done what he was suppose to. The time at the rodeo was the worst. Bom wouldn't sleep through the night for days and Alex was highly strung, not realising what it was that he was missing in his life.  
  
"Come here squirt!" Meg handed her precious bundle over to Alex, somewhat relieved that he was still partially himself, after whatever it was that had upset him so much from Claire's letter.  
  
'I wonder what that is?' her sarcastic self thought. 'The man's just got a letter from the love of his life, how would you feel?'  
  
"I can't believe I left you here squirt!" Alex talking to his 'daughter' brought Meg back to Earth. "And went so far away from you. Don't ever let me do it again, I'd miss you too much."  
  
"I'm sure she'd miss you just as much. She really loves you, you do know that don't you?" Meg was probing gently, trying to gauge how Alex was, how affected he was by the letter.  
  
"Just like her mother I suppose." His answer was thoughtful. "Don't give me that innocent look Meg."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yes you! I know you want to read the letter. Must have something to do with you being so far down the reading list." They had drawn names out of a hat to decide in what order the letters would be read. They had decided not to read them all at once because of the emotional stress that they had agreed might occur during the readings.  
  
"I just want to make sure that you're not planning on doing anything stupid" Meg was quick to defend herself.  
  
"Why is it they say that? Why do they say that when they mean to ask whether you're contemplating suicide? How can you be sure that committing suicide is something stupid?" There followed a few moments of silence. "Not that I am, there is nothing to worry about!"  
  
"Oh good! Not to change the subject, but those were some rather morbid thoughts! How about we go inside and put this little one to bed? You really should teach me how you manage it, so that she sleeps the whole night through."  
  
"It's really quite simple." They started moving towards the house  
  
"Oh, really? Care to share the master's secret?" Meg was rather glad to find that he wasn't upset as she first thought, if he was willing to talk about Bom, he was basically willing to talk about anything.  
  
"You won't believe me. When we were in the city and she woke up; I remembered something Mum told me once about how I wouldn't sleep through the night when I was younger, and then one day she stumbled on the answer. In sheer desperation she put on a record she had to listen to in an attempt to get me to sleep and it worked! I slept the entire night.  
  
"Well, after that, she played or sang me to sleep. I do the same thing!" He paused on the veranda.  
  
"What song?" Meg was adamant to find out all she could in case something happened and there was a repeat performance of what happened when Alex was at the Rodeo.  
  
"Well, with me it was Elvis, because that's basically all Mum had, but Bom and I listen to all sorts, don't we squirt? Classical works well, Carnival de Animaux (A/N: Carnival of the Animals by Sain-Seines) works well, but I can't sing that, so I tend to stick to Morning Town Ride (A/N: I had to include this, I would never go to sleep without it when I was younger), Goodnight My Angel, Landslide. Anything simple and soothing."  
  
"So that's all there is to it? I can't believe I didn't think of that! Jodi used to sleep fitfully and someone mentioned it for her, but it never worked so I didn't think to try it with Charlotte."  
  
"Well, don't worry about it. It took me ages to find several songs that would sooth her. Some of them made her hyperactive, if it is possible for someone her age to get so."  
  
"Oh, its possible! They're even worse at that age than they are when they're ten and hypo. We should be getting back to everyone, so how about you take little missy upstairs and get her settled in, and I'll go back to the kitchen and put the kettle on for a cuppa before we open the next letter. I think it's gonna be a long night"  
  
With that, they entered the house and went in their separate directions, separated for the moment, but holding a stronger bond. On Meg's half because of the openness he had shown, a secret divulged often does that, on Alex's because of the understanding and thoughtfulness shown by Meg's inquiries.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Wow! I thought the last chapter was big! This is like over twice the size of the last one! I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the lack of updates during these holidays. I go back to school soon, so you might not get as regular updates, but then again, I now have the DVDs and MD starts soon so my muse might like me better.  
  
I noticed that I have not been able to review other stories, because the window was not allowing me to log in. I do accept anonymous reviews; in fact, they are welcomed just as much as logged in reviews!  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Edgar and I, Edgar being my muse, have not yet agreed on whose letter the next chapter will be about. He is all rearing and ready to go with the Bom chapter, but I have been firm about the fact that it will be the last chapter. He's currently sulking over in the corner of the room. I think we might be able to come to a compromise about it, maybe we'll write it and save it for later. So it might be a while until this conflict is resolved.  
  
However, Edgar gets along with me better when people tell him three things:  
  
1-What they liked  
  
2-What they didn't and  
  
3- what they (or their muse) think should happen in the coming chapters.  
  
So you see, reviewing would be doing us all a favour, it would make sure that I didn't have to threaten to go shopping for a new muse, or something just as drastic; it would stop Edgar from feeling unloved; and it would mean that you would get a new chapter sooner. So really, if you review, you're helping yourself in many ways.  
  
Thanks!  
  
Bai!  
  
Emsta 


	4. Chapter 3 Stevie

Disclaimer: Ok, I do not own the characters, only the story. The events are fictitious and out of my own mind. They do not necessarily represent anything that happens on the show.  
  
A/N: Yes, I have updated.  
  
Jessica and I would like to thank the following people for reviews:  
  
jelly-belly-babe- I'm Glad you like it, I wasn't so sure if it was going to be in character. This one is very much made up.  
  
meggie-moo-has-fun- Well, I wrote Bom's letter next, but I'm leaving it til last. But it is half written.  
  
Southern Son- hands her tissue I have written more, but I'm not sure its classified as 'soon'  
  
Jessica and I liked them, it helped with our differences, and we hope that you guys will write more for this chapter. We have 6 chapters left to write, not including the half-written chapter of Bom's letter (its probably longer than any of the other chaps I've written, but I'm sure that when the time comes, you'll all enjoy it.) On that note, ON WITH THE STORY!!!  
  
Chapter Three-Stevie

* * *

My dearest friend Stevie,  
  
It had been so long since I last saw you that I was not sure whether or not I was dreaming when you arrived here yesterday, but as you are aware, I was not. It has been too long my friend. I hope that you stick around here and we can catch up on old times at the rodeo, because they were wonderful times.  
  
This brings something else to mind. There is something I need you to do. You need to tell Alex about his daughter. Yes, I remember about Rosie. Alex may not immediately embrace the fact he has a daughter, but he deserves to know and will be overjoyed by the fact if you give him time.  
  
And you need to tell Rosie about who you really are. She needs to know, because how would you feel if someone told you when you were 12 that you're mother wasn't you mum, you're aunt was? Bad, I know, but not as bad as if you found out when you were older and needed to get a licence or passport. She has a right to know. Don't be discouraged if she doesn't jump into your arms and start calling you "Mum" straight away. It's going to be a lot for her to process. And she's been someone else's little girl too for a long time. Remember that, and give her time to adjust.  
  
I know you've been worried about how you can support her and so she went to live with Michelle. But please so check out my accounts. There is a trust for Bom of course, but if you look further you will see that there is also a small trust for Rosie, just a little bit of savings I started when I first found out about her. I haven't looked at it recently, but it is a basis for you to start on.  
  
I am sorry that this is not as long as the other letters (but hopefully I'll get to write you a new one before you receive this to make up for how short this is), but Bom is being a bit of a nuisance tonight, she refuses to sleep and Alex is busy. He's wonderful at getting her to sleep. I don't know how you managed all on your own with Rose for the year that you did. I always admired you for it, but now I have more reasons to because of what I know about raising a child.  
  
You are, and will always remain my best female friend. I hope you're life brings you more love and stability in the years to come. I also hope that you and Rosie will once more be able be the family you were so long ago.  
  
Take care,  
  
Claire.

* * *

Stevie walked back to the house, in her hand a photograph and her letter from Claire. The photo depicted a small girl sitting on a horse, smiling at the camera. She walked into the kitchen, clutching the photo to her. she had been crying, her cheeks stained and her eyes red.  
  
"What insight did my wonderful sister have for you?" Tess was concerned, but had still not gotten over all of the hostilities. She noticed the photo that had been shown to her not that long ago. "She knew about Rose?" Tess guessed.  
  
Stevie nodded, and then noticed the confused looking bunch sitting at the kitchen table. "My daughter." she informed them.  
  
The looks changed from confused to surprised then back to confused again.  
  
"Your daughter?" Jodi queeried.  
  
"Yeah, my daughter. She's twelve. Lives with my sister Michelle. That's why she was so worried."  
  
"You must have been very young." Meg was worried about how she would have coped and what could have led a girl to give up her daughter to her sister.  
  
"Yeah, fifteen."  
  
A silence surrounded the room at this revelation.

* * *

Alex found Stevie upstairs. She had gone up to check on Charlotte. Stevie had had more of an involvement with Charlotte since she had told Tess about Rosie. Tess had felt sorry that Stevie hadn't been involved in her daughter's raising, so she had offered to let Stevie be more involved in that of her niece.  
  
Alex startled Stevie by speaking. "You were fifteen when you had her." She nodded. "Makes you fourteen when you were pregnant." when Stevie nodded again, Alex continued. "Which was while you were on the Rodeo circuit." When Stevie had nodded for the third time, he shocked her with a simple sentence. "Is she mine?"  
  
Stevie was shocked to say the least. but she was glad that he had figured it out and she didn't have to come up with some way to tell him. "Yes, she's your daughter."  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Alex was surprisingly calm for a man who had just found out that his one-time girlfriend had given birth to his daughter twelve years ago and never told him.  
  
"What was I going to say. 'Hi Alex, long time no see. I forgot to tell you but you have a daughter.'" was stevie's sarcastic response. "Because I'm sure that it would have gone down well with you and everyone here."  
  
"Were you ever going to tell me?"  
  
"When I first came back and saw you again, I was going to tell you, but then I saw how in-love you and Claire were and I wasn't going to be the one to reck the happiness of my best friend. So I put it off. And it seems that was in vain. She knew all along."  
  
"What do you mean she knew all along?" Stevie showed him the letter.  
  
He read the bit where his name was. "How could she keep something like that from me?" Now Alex was upset.  
  
"She probably wanted me to tell you myself. wouldn't you have preferred it that way?"  
  
The impending argument was broken by Tess walking into the room to see what all the fuss was about. "What's going on?"  
  
Stevie opened her mouth to answer, but Alex shook his head. He wanted to get it through his head that he was a biological father first, then tell everyone else.  
  
"We're just discussing something that Claire said in her letter. Don't worry, we're finished." Stevie smiled a some-what fake smile. "Why don't we go downstairs and read the next letter?"  
  
With that, they turned off the light, and left baby Bom in the nursery, not unlike the way that Stevie had left her daughter eleven years ago.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please tell me what you thought about it. Jessica and I will be able to use your comment in our relationship counselling session. 


	5. Chapter 4 Meg

Meg's Letter 

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. . . Not even my time most days. Too much work to do!!!

**A/N**: Well, it has taken me ages to update this. I have been working on Bom's letter, which is going to be the last chapter (or two as it seems to be writing itself). So please, don't ask for it now, because you're not going to get it yet!

**Horsewhisperer**: Thanks Stewart. You made Edgar happy, which made him write Bom's letter

**genevra**: I'm sorry about your best friend. Was it an accident? And you should know by now, that I LOVE your long reviews. And thanks for the advice, it was much appreciated

**meggie-moo-has-fun**: Its good that you loved my idea about Rosie and her dad. I was wondering how it would go over.

**Charmed-angel4**: Well, now you do know what happens next. And again, its GREAT that you love the idea bout Rosie, Stevie and Alex.

ON WITH THE SHOW!!!

* * *

Meg walked into her bedroom and sat near the head of her bed, hugging a pillow to her as she opened her letter.

* * *

__

To Dearest Meg,

How long has it been that you were my one companion. Thank-you for everything that you ever did for Jack and me, it meant a lot to both of us... possibly more to him than it did to me. I am so sorry about what I said about you and him. It seems childish now, but at the time I was angry because it meant that I had to share not only Jack, but also you. Yes I realised that I had to share you with Jodi, but that never really worried me, she was always there. But suddenly, I had to share with Jack too. I wasn't impressed.

However, the wisdom that apparently comes with age (and probably, more to the point, motherhood) has now reached me. I realise that I probably hurt you more than I realise even now. I'm also sorry for any wisecracks I made about you and Terry. He's a great man who makes you happy, and that's all that matters. Plus- the two of you have made some good bets in your time. I wish I could have seen his face when you made him walk into town. However, the thought still brings a smile to my face.

What else do I have to say to you, dearest Meg? Thank you for being my mother figure after Ruth left, and for talking me into remembering just how much Tess meant to me. While everyone else saw only that I didn't like her, or want her back, you saw that I had been hurt, and didn't want to get hurt again. You've always known me better than I know myself. Which, I suppose, comes mainly from the fact you've known me my whole life, and you can watch from a semi-detached position.

It might have made my life simpler if you had shared some of what you saw to me, if you had advised me like you would Jodi. Then again, I probably would have laughed the idea of Alex and I off. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I almost wish that you and Jack had stayed together longer, and you had become almost a confidant to me. (A/N: I know this sounds too girly for Claire McLeod, but I suppose that now is the time for revelations.)

I will be eternally grateful that you convinced me to not only let Tess stay, but also that you kept her here when I wasn't as nice as I could have been. I was so bitter at her and Ruth for so many years, that I wasn't able to see what I really felt- that I loved my baby sister so much that it hurt, so it was easier to be angry than to be sad.

Dad was so forlorn after they left. He would walk into her room and just stare at her bed. And that only fuelled my anger. It was a lot for someone my age to take.

I wish that I'd had more time to hear more about my mother. I know that you knew her, and that has made you all the more precious to me over the years.

I will always be glad to have known you,

Claire.

P.S.- Because you were so interested, my first- alongside the dam, under the stars, next to a blazing fire.

* * *

Meg was unsure whether to cry or laugh. So, she did both. She laughed through her tears when she read that last sentence, her mind floating back to the night before Jodi's 18th when the three women had discussed life, love and all that is important. It seemed so long ago, what with all the changes that had happened in their lives, but it was, in reality, only just over three years. (A/N: well, not sure with real time-line but in reality it's about three years) Her girls had grown up so much over that time. One had almost gotten married and the other had had a baby of her own.

She knew that in reality Claire had never been her daughter, but it sure had felt like that over the years.

Her mind drifted back to her first day at the Run. She had been kicked out of home for some reason, she didn't even remember these days, and had seen an ad about someone wanting a housekeeper. Meg had been running her home since she was 14 and she enjoyed the satisfaction that overcame her when she looked around the kitchen and it just shone.

So she had appeared on Jack McLeod's doorstep. He was about ten years older than herself, with a pretty young wife. She helped around the house when Claire was born, mourned with Jack when his wife died soon after giving birth to their son, who had died soon after. She was there when he started drinking, and then when one day the cloud disappeared from above his head and he was able to look at his small daughter without crying.

She was there for him, even if she didn't like Ruth, when he had remarried. Her workload had increased when Ruth gave birth to his second daughter. She was the one he ran to when he was told that Ruth couldn't have anymore kids. Meg watched as his slowly broke again under the strain of a bad marriage. She had sheltered both his of daughters when the two had fought, and when they had been scared of the noise made by various slamming doors in arguments.

Meg was the one who looked after Claire when her father, once again, threw himself into his work, and for a few months ignored the daughter that he still had. She was the one who was always on hand when Ruth sent back his birthday cards to his daughter.

And in turn, Jack had been the one she ran to when Kevin left her holding the baby, so to speak.

Meg's reverie was broken by Terry's arrival next to her. She turned to face him, and he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I never meant to stay here for so many years." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I was only going to stay until Dad would have me back home."

Terry was somewhat confused as to what had come over his sheila, but he decided it would probably be better to play it by ear- "Why? What made you stay?"

"I'm not sure really." Came the vague response. There was a pause and then she continued. "No, I do know. I fell in love with this place, then Kev, then Jodi was too young, then I fell in and out of love with Jack." She was worried as to how he would respond to the mention of her earlier loves, but decided that tonight was as good a night as any- plus she had to tell him sometime and now was as good as any. "And then I fell in love with you."

Terry held the woman in his arms tighter, enjoying just holding her. It felt nice to be loved, and to hold the woman he loved in his arms.

* * *

They were still sitting there half an hour later when Jodi came out to find them. The three of them moved slowly up to the house, and the rest of the group.

* * *

****

A/N: Ok, so, I was going to work in that Jack was actually Jodi's dad rather than Kevin, but someone advised that I probably shouldn't. Please review. If you can tell me some ideas of what to put in Jodi, Nick and Terry's letters, it'll make them appear quicker!


	6. Chapter 5 Jodi

Jodi's Letter 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. . . If I did, I'd pay someone to write this for me rather than take time out of my procrastination to do it.

**A/N:** I've had so much trouble writing Jodi. I'm thinking of killing her off in any other MD fic I do so that I don't have to. Somehow, I don't think that'll go down well with you people.

**CSIcrazy:** Yay! You still love me! You've got this one before Christmas. I doubt you'll have two when you get back

**LieutenantigMegAustin:** Nah, I don't think that you guys are going to get Peter or Becky's letter... maybe if I end up getting the S2 & S3 DVDs before I post Bom's letter, but you probably won't. I hadn't intende to actually write them but that might be a good challange for me.

**genevra:** More is up! I'm sorry about your friend still.

* * *

Jodi entered the quiet upstairs room. She sat in the chair opposite the door and turned on the bedside lamp. She quietly opened the envelope that had her name on it, careful not to rip the envelope.

* * *

_Dear Jodi,_

I suppose that in the past I might have been a bit harsh on you. I must apologise greatly for the fiasco in the lead up to your eighteenth birthday bash. It was interesting that you thought we'd really forget your birthday and that we'd be so unkind about celebrating it. I still feel slightly guilty for the pain and anxiety we caused you.

I always envied you when we were younger. You had a mum, and I didn't. Sure, you didn't have a dad, but then you had never had one and really didn't know the difference. My mum died, and I didn't have one for a few years. Then along came Ruth and Tess, and then my mum was gone again, when the two of them left. And I was so bitter at them for so many years, because I was too young to understand why they left.

However, these days I can sympathise with you. I wish that you will, one-day have all the questions about your dad answered. I know you were always Jack's little princess, but it's not quite the same is it? I know I've always wanted to know all about my mum, and now I suppose I might.

I'm glad that you ended up knowing about Terry. It was hard to keep it from you for all the years they were together without you knowing. I'm glad that you two have gotten along a lot more recently, we were all worried when you first found out because not only of the fuss you made, but because Meg would have given him up for you.

That might surprise you, and it surprised me at the time, but since Charlotte was born, I have begun to understand. There is almost nothing I wouldn't do to keep her happy. I guess what they say about a mother's love being unconditional is true, but only up to a point. Don't try to find that limit, it'll only end up hurting you both. Just believe that its there and try not to cross it, because once its crossed, I assure you, there is no going back.

Stay young, cheerful and romantic- it's a great way to go through life, seeing the good in each situation and person.

Claire

* * *

Jodi folded the letter once more and placed it back in the envelope in which it had come. She glanced across the room to the area outside the circle of light to where a small girl lay sleeping in her cot. She smiled as memories from that room came filtering through her mind.

FLASHBACK

She was five, Claire and Alex were fourteen. Claire had promised that they would play in the store room, and go through the boxes to see what they could find. Then Alex turned up and she watched as Claire brushed her off, wanting only to show Alex the new horse that Jack had bought. She followed them for a bit, whining about how Claire had promised to play with her.

* * *

She was seven; Claire and Alex were sixteen. She had walked up the hall to hear strange noises coming from the storeroom. She opened the door to find a topless Alex (who was home from boarding school for the holidays) and a shirtless, bra-clad Claire kissing. She hadn't known promptly slammed the door and run downstairs to find her mum.

* * *

She was ten and home for the holidays. She asked Jack why the store room had flowery wallpaper. She watched as his face clouded with emotion and he walked away from her without answering. She saw Claire anger and storm out and her mum told her that it was one of the things that they didn't talk about, like the limp that Nick had, and the fact that he had spent many weeks in hospital, and the fact that Alex had to attend boarding school.

* * *

She was nearly eighteen, and home for a period before starting TAFE. Tess had arrived and she was showing the older woman around again. Tess had walked around in awe, her face a huge smile, remembering the small things that she thought she had remembered. She had seen the door and almost ran towards it, talking about how it was her room and the decorations on the walls. Jodi watched as her face fell, and talked about how it had been the storeroom for her entire life.

* * *

She remembered the days when they had cleaned out the room for yet another McLeod's Daughter. The room that had always been filled with boxes was emptied, and many things were discovered in the various boxes that had inhabited there, forgotten and displaced from when Tess and Ruth had left.

* * *

She remembered the day not so long ago that Tess had stumbled back, carrying a crying Bom in her arms, and the confusion where she was left with Charlotte as they rushed off to the ill-fated Ute, at the bottom of a cliff, that held the beloved mother, sister, friend and lover.

She and Bom had retreated up here. Jodi hadn't known what else to do, so she took the small child and climbed the stairs, finally sitting herself in the room that held so many memories from her own childhood. She had held the small child, and rocked her as tears had poured down her own cheeks, wetting the hair on the small head until the two of them had fallen asleep together.

END FLASHBACK

The room had seen a lot. It had held a baby girl, who lived in it until she was five. It had become the store room as the grief of a father had lost her couldn't bear him to view the room that had held the bright and cheery girl. It had been a hiding place for another small girl when she needed to be alone. It had been the secret meeting place of two friends who became more than friends. Now the room housed a baby girl yet again, one who was loved by those who surrounded her - the spirit of her mother and the physical presence of her Aunt, the man who would have been her step-father and the surrogate family that inhabited the place of her heritage.

Heaven help anyone who tried to hurt the little girl's well being.

* * *

Jodi remained in Charlotte's room for a while longer, wanting not to leave the room that held memories, both good and bad, of the woman who had been pulled from life too soon.

She quietly closed the door and walked down to the kitchen, knowing that Claire's death would be forever implanted in the room of memories. Her room of memories.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, Microsoft Word informs me that I've now got over 10000 words! YAY! GO ME!!! Hmmm, thats including the next chapters and my own notes... not as good as I thought. Hmph.

On another note, the next chapter will be Nick's letter. Then after that there's Terry's and the big finale- Bom's letter. So there's four chapters left to go... (Bom's is going to be in two parts because it's so large.) So if you've stuck with me this far, you're the end is in sight!


	7. Chapter 6 Bom Part 1

Bom's Letter (Part 1) 

**Disclaimer:** Well, if I owned them, I wouldn't have to work, and then this story would have been finished yonks ago... As far as I know, Posy still owns them... the characters and stuff that is.

**A/N:** So, I have given up on writing Nick and Terry's letters... I figure that it's more important to finish this... mind you, I haven't written Becky's or Peter's either, so you'll all cope, I hope...

**CSIcrazy:** There are more chapters, just not when you wanted them... C'mon though, it's almost finished.

**genevra:** Glad you loved the flashbacks, I thought they were fun to write. Yeah, and sorr in advance that I skipped TNs... it was getting too hard.

**LieutenantjgMegAustin:** God thats a long name! Anyway, you don't have to wait too much longer! YAY!

**

* * *

**SOME YEARS LATER 

Alex Ryan walked down the staircase in the old homestead on Drover's Run, his arms filled with wrapped presents, and headed towards the kitchen to make a very special birthday breakfast.

"Daddy!" Alex's heart swelled at the small hurricane named Lucy who came rushing towards him, her short seven-year-old legs propelling her at an amazing speed. She had been a surprise, but was a great addition to the family, and none of them would have had it any other way.

"Good morning sweetheart. And how are you today?" He paused to put down the load of presents in his arms and swung Lucy up into the air.

"I'm good Daddy. Are those for me?" Alex had to smile at the eager look on her face.

"Sorry sweetheart. We've had this talk already. These are for Carlotte," he said, using Lucy's own nickname for her sister. "It's her birthday, remember?"

"Lucy? Where are you honey?" A tall, lean girl walked into the kitchen, obviously looking for someone or something.

"She's here Char. We were just talking." Alex was struck once again by how much his adopted daughter looked like her mother. He walked over to her, and enveloped her in a fatherly hug. "It's hard to believe you're eighteen."

"Don't I know it!" The three of them turned to see a blond haired woman standing in the doorway.

"Auntie Tess!" Charlotte ran toward her favourite aunt. "I didn't know you were back."

"Did you really think I'd miss you're eighteenth?" Tess look towards the child that had come charging in the door. "Daniel, no running in the house."

Alex walked over to his sister-in-law and hugged her, still holding his daughter in one arm. He had long ago learnt the trick of holding a child while doing other things. "It's good to have you back, Tess. It's been too long."

"Only six months Alex."

"And another six before that. How am I supposed to raise my kids without you bugging me about it?"

Before she could answer, another voice was heard flittering through the house. "Tess? Where are you?" A tall man limped into the kitchen, his arms full of bags.

"Nick? What, couldn't keep up with the pace in the big wide world?" Alex's banter was a thin mask over his emotions of seeing his 'baby' brother back home safe and sound. Despite their best efforts, Sandra and Harry had only had daughters, not that they minded. Harry had been as in love with his daughters as his sons had been with their daughters up until the day he died.

It had been hard to believe that the old codger had it in him, but he doted on his girls, who grew up to be close to Charlotte, much to everyone's surprise.

What was more surprising was that after Harry's death Alex had been the one to support Sandra through the time in the time directly after. He had been the one to look after his little 'sisters' when it all got too much for Sandra and help her through the hard times he himself had experienced with the death of Claire.

"Good to see you too mate. I didn't realise how much I missed this place until we flew over it last night in the plane."

"Yeah, I had to convince him not to drive back last night jet-lagged. As it is, we left at 3 a.m. anyway." Tess faked a yawn, but they all knew that had Nick not made her get up that early, she would have had him up anyway.

"Dad..."Alex looked across the room to see another 'youngster' looking on the scene through blurred eyes. "Dad, I'm hungry"

"Patrick, I was wondering when you'd resurface. You came in rather late last night don't you think? And you know where the kitchen is." Alex was forever trying to get his son to pull his own weight around the house.

"I was only half an hour late." Pat took after his dad in more than looks. He had also inherited both his parents' spirit for mischief. Charlotte looked at him and he realised his mistake. The first thing she had taught him was to try and avoid telling their father just how much he'd stuffed up. "Auntie Tess! What are you doing here?"

His change of subject did not go unnoticed, but Tess decided to aid the youngster. "It's your sister's eighteenth, or had you forgotten?" she replied with a smile.

"Eighteenth? Come to think of it, someone might have mentioned it..."

"Once or twice an hour for the last month." Stevie never got sick of teasing Charlotte about her obsession with things like her birthday.

Alex smiled and beckoned his wife over towards him. She was still as beautiful as the first time he saw her all those years ago at the rodeo, even after so many years of motherhood and life running a farm.

"Hello? Does no-one around here know how to open a door?" A new voice cut its way through the silence in the room. "A hand would be appreciated." The owner of the voice walked through the doorway.

"Jodi!" Stevie untangled herself from her husband and almost ran towards the girl she had originally given so much trouble to. After a _very_ rough start the two women had become firm friends. "How long ago did you get here?"

"We got here about an hour ago. Mum insisted that we unpack before coming up here." Jodi smiled softly. "You know how she is when she's nervous."

There was a silence around the room because since they had all last met, Meg had lost her second husband to cancer. The country sun that Terry loved so much had eventually killed him.

"How's she been managing? I wasn't able to call or see her as much as I would have liked." One of the things that Tess hated most about moving around with Nick and Alex's ever expanding business was that she was not around enough to see those she loved.

"I think Mum's living it one day at a time." Silence fell around the room once more.

The front door creaked.

"Why all the long faces? You should all know as well as I do that Terry wouldn't have wanted us sad, he'd want us to throw ourselves into our lives with more vigour." The strong face that Meg put on in front of most people crumbled and she began quietly crying. Everyone seemed at a loss as to how to comfort the woman.

"Grandma!" An energetic twelve-year-old ran into the room in a flurry of long hair. Her "shadow", five-year-old Melanie, as the group knew her followed 'Cyclone Becca'. They ran towards their grandmother and cheered Meg by their presence alone. Rebecca, and thus Melanie, had been very close to her step-grandfather and been almost as hard-hit by his death as Meg.

"Is that really little Mel?" Tess quietly queried, careful that the girl should not overhear, remembering how she had not enjoyed being called small, little or young. Tess had missed seeing Jodi the last time she had made it up to Drovers' as the younger woman had been in the city visiting Becky, and her new baby boy. Jodi motioned for Tess to follow her to the study, where they could catch up not only in private, but also with their feet up.

"Yeah, its hard to believe, isn't it? Luke and I were talking about the same thing last week when I took the girls over to him." Jodi had married the reformed bad-boy a couple of years before Rebecca was born.

"And how is your esteemed ex-husband and son doing these days?" A few months after Melanie was born, the couple almost lost their second child, a boy named Jason, in an accident. The small boy had never been the same and neither had the relationship between his parents. Jason and his father lived in the city, and there was much travel of the three children during holidays and school term. Jodi still missed her little boy though.

"Jason's doing a lot better. You know how after the accident he had a really big fear of all large animals?" Tess nodded. She remembered that day. Jason had been thrown from his pony in the middle of a sheep paddock. He wasn't able to get up, and the sheep and a couple of cows had spent a lot of the day crowding around him. Even though he had spent all of his four years on the farm, helping with the various animals, he was still very scared by the sheep, and for many years associated the pain of his broken arm with the two types of animals.

"It took him a long time to get over, I remember."

"Yeah, well, he has decided that he wants to move back here when he's older and "become Dave", I believe his essay said." Jodi smiled slyly at Tess, who shuddered.

"God, more than one Dave Brewer? How will the world survive?" Since Dave had gotten remarried, for the third time, he and the whole Drovers' mob had become closer (probably because he had married one of their own).

"And how are things between you and Luke?" Tess asked somewhat innocently.

"They're good. We're thinking of giving it another try, as long as Jason doesn't mind coming back to the country." Jodi sighed and smiled softly. "The one thing we've always agreed on since Bec was born was that our children would come first in all decisions. So if they move back, we'll give it a try and hopefully not get their hopes up until we are certain about how it will turn out."

"You two have a lot of history. That's gotta count for something." Jodi may have always been the romantic, but Tess had learnt a bit from her over the years.

"I hope so." That was all that was said, and all that need to be.

**

* * *

A/N:** Ok, so, other half of the chapter is written, will be up once I've got a couple of reviews... So it's all in your hands... The sooner you review, the sooner it'll be up. 


	8. Chapter 7 Bom Part 2

Bom's Letter Part 2 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own... I didn't get them, even though I asked for them for my bday.

**A/N**: Well, I don't have anything to say... wow!

**genevra**: Yay! Hope Comp doesn't stuff up for you too much. Yes, this is going to be the last letter, sorry... On the bright side, I'll have more time to work on Forgive.

**sarita**: Thanks for not minding, sorry you don't like the whole Stevie/Alex thing.

**meggie-moo-has-fun** and **lieutenantjgMegAustin**: Glad you're liking.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Alex found Charlotte sitting on the veranda, looking out over the fields that her mother had loved so much.

He sat down beside her and handed her an envelope with her name on it.

"I thought you were going to give me my present later, at the party."

"This isn't from me. It's from your mum." Seeing the confused look on her face, he clarified. "Claire, not Stevie. She wrote it before she died and instructed us to you when you were old enough, or when you started asking about her. You never really asked after your tenth birthday, and I didn't think you were ready for it then, I know I definitely wasn't ready for you to have it. It would have meant that my the last bit I held of her had really grown up, and left my grasp."

Charlotte stood up in anger: "You told me she died in a car accident, that she had no idea what was coming!" she shouted.

"Honey, calm down, she did." He rested his hand on her arm. "At least, that's what we all thought. She had some sort of foresight occasionally. She wrote a letter for each of us and left them at her attorneys'. We didn't find out until we got a letter from him about a month after you were bitten by the red back and Stevie hijacked Sandra's plane." Alex stared over the fields for a few minutes, a far away look in his eyes.

However long it had been, and however much he loved his wife, he would NEVER forget the girl who had stolen his heart, and the woman who had broken it when she died. "Have I ever told you how much you look like her?"

He had, because she did. Charlotte was the spitting image of her mother, only modernised and slightly more fashionable. No one growing up with Stevie and Tess as surrogate mothers could go without at least a small knowledge and appreciation for fashion.

Apart from personal appearance, there were a lot of similarities between Charlotte and her birth mother. Bom had taken to riding a lot quicker than any of them would have expected. She had a natural feel for horses, and the group had yet to find a horse that she could not handle given some time. Bom also deeply loved the property on which she had been born and that she had never left, thanks to the wonders of School of the Air.

* * *

After Charlotte had disappeared over the horizon, Alex stayed on the veranda, thinking. He knew where she was headed, and resisted the urge to follow her. 'She's a big girl.' He reminded himself. "It's all up to you now Claire." He said softly, his eyes glazing once again. He stood slowly, shaking the thoughts from his head. He turned to enter the house, and smiled. It had all turned out okay after all.

* * *

Charlotte walked slowly, picking her way up the hill, and sat down on at the top. She had come here many times in her life, when she felt sad or angry, or just wanted to be near Claire.

"Hi Mum." She said simply, pulling out the piece of grass that had grown in the wrong spot. Over the years, she had stopped coming up here as much. In her early teens when her temper seemed harder to keep than a block of chocolate in a property full of women, she had come here almost daily, visiting her mother, grandparents and uncle who had died at birth. She never felt morbid here. She always left feeling uplifted.

Charlotte took a deep breath and opened the envelope and pulled out some faded petals and a tear stained letter:

* * *

_My dearest daughter,_

How I wish I could put this paper aside and go over the where you are sleeping upstairs and watch you sleep, although I fear if I stop I might not come back to this letter and regret it later. I hope that you never have to read this, but still I am compelled to write.

I trust that Tess and/or Alex has given this to you when they judged that you are old enough to understand the workings of love, life and all that it encompasses.

I have so much to tell you, I don't know where to begin. I think it best to start at the beginning.

I believe you have a right to know about your father. At the present time he is fairly uninterested in being part of your life, past a name on you're birth certificate, but I hope in time this will change. His name is Peter Johnson and we were in a relationship for a while, until I found out, he was actually married with children. Therefore, my darling daughter Charlotte, you have in fact, half siblings, two sisters I believe.

I hope that since the last time I talked to him, he has decided that he wants to get to know you and that you two have a relationship that extends past Christmas and birthday cards.

Soon after I had sent Peter packing, after finding out about his marriage, I discovered I was pregnant. I told no one, except your Aunty Tess.

When I had an accident involving a fall from a horse, Tess was forced to tell the paramedics I was pregnant, with you. Because he sensed I did not want the general population to know that your father had betrayed me, so to speak, Alex stepped in and said he was your father. Deep down in my heart I wanted him to be. I think I have always wanted him to be.

Peter arrived at one stage and wanted to know if he was the father. I told him he wasn't and felt somewhat guilty for it later.

You were born unexpectedly, while I was out in a field looking for a little girl's fairy wand. I expect you have been told the story many times and if not by me, then by Tess and Alex.

What do I want for my little girl? If you are reading this, I am sure that you're not so little anymore, and that frightens and excites me. You have your own dreams I am sure, so I will not try to impinge mine on you.

Remember that you were born on this great wide land that I love so much, and if you need to feel close to me, I will never be far away, and I'll never be nearer to you than in one of Drovers' fields. And this place will be your home for as long or short as you want.

Do not be afraid of loving. I was, and I have regretted every moment. You have a great capacity to love; I have learnt that lately. Just as you seem to have given all the love in your heart, along comes another stranger, and you smile the smile that only you can give, and melt their heart.

Do not be afraid of who you are. It is the one thing that no one can ever take away from you. Have the strength to dream, the willingness to fail, and the courage to continue until you get it right.M

I love you my baby girl, and I wish and hope that in a year I will be able to burn this so that you never have to read it, but I'm afraid that it might not be the case.

I will love you from now until there is no more time, Your loving mother, Claire

* * *

**A/N: ** And that, my friends, is the end. It has taken me a long time, but its finally finished. I'm NOT going to add anymore, unless there is a LOT of pleading, guilt tripping, compliments, and a large wombat arrives on my front lawn. Even then, it's not certain. I suppose that I could write a few paragraphs on what has happened to all the characters and pretend it's a chapter or finish some of the other letters... Maybe I'll wait until I've finished something else though.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed... if you haven't, do so now... if you don't know how, you click the little box that says "go" and if you don't know what to write, read some of genevra's... I love them... they're useful and loving and make me wanna write more... (She's not the only one who writes good reviews, but no-one springs to mind through the haze of hayfever)


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue 

**Disclaimer:** This piece of paper in front of me that says I own them is fake... So, No, I don't own, No, I never will and Yes, they're going to be returned after this chapter...

**A/N:** So I hate you all! I was writing the next chap of Forgive (which was going okay) and then I got all these reviews... and Jessica and Edgar dropped their ideas for it, and did this instead. So, it's all your fault that Forgive doesn't have a new chap.

So, as it turns out, begging does work... and the virtual wombat didn't hurt either.

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Charlotte McLeod folded the letter, placing it back into its worn envelope. She stood up from her position on the grass in front of her mother's grave, feeling, like she always did, a stronger connection to the woman who had given her life. She began the decent towards the house, moving slower than she usually did, somewhat impaired by her stomach. She remembered the first time she had come here, on her eighteenth birthday, and read the precious piece of paper. She was sure that she had fulfilled all her mother wished for her, become the person she was born to be, and now she would carry on the tradition. Her daughter would be born soon, and would grow up on this land that was rapidly being eaten up by touristy properties, more bent on making money than on preserving the land for future use.

When she got to the house, she was met by the pattering of feet. Her niece, six-year-old Stephanie, ran towards her, putting her hand out to see if the baby was kicking. Nine months, almost to the day, after her eighteenth birthday, Stevie and Alex had become grandparents for the first time. It had been strange, having a daughter and granddaughter who were only seven years apart. Lucy had loved it. She had her own, live Barbie doll to play with.

Several hours later, Charlotte was sitting, her legs up, reading quietly to Steph, when she felt a sharp pain in her back. She thought nothing of it, until the small girl's bed became wet. Four hours later, her daughter was born in her grandmother's room.

When it came to naming the child, she changed her mind, yet again because of the date. Today Claire would have been 50. It only seemed fair to name her first grandchild after her.

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**A/N:** Thanks for staying with me through all of this. If you want a follow up- TOO BAD! Write it yourself. :P 


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